


The Corrupt General

by starbirdrampant (ineasako22)



Series: Tumblr writing prompts [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Tumblr Prompt, post-Umbara arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 07:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9425660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineasako22/pseuds/starbirdrampant
Summary: Sometimes Rex forgot that in the eyes of the “civilized” galaxy he was merely a faceless automaton, a cog in the Republic’s war machine. Sometimes he forgot that others might see him and his brothers asless.After Umbara, he didn’t forget anymore.A response to a prompt bysourlanderon tumblr."send me a made-up fic title and i’ll tell you what i would write to go with it" tumblr prompt





	

Sometimes Rex forgot that in the eyes of the “civilized” galaxy he was merely a faceless automaton, a cog in the Republic’s war machine. Sometimes he forgot that others might see him and his brothers as _less_. 

After Umbara, he didn’t forget anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the heart of GAR Headquarters on Coruscant was a room that only a few people knew about. Barely half the size of the bridge of a star destroyer, the room consisted of a small raised dais with no more than seven chairs on it at any given time, all facing an even smaller receiving area, illuminated only by a single light, pointed down. It was into this area that Rex stepped, his helmet tucked under his arm, and straightened into attention.

“CT-7567, Captain...Rex, was it?”

“Yes sir.”

“Captain, please summarize for the record the events listed in your report to this committee, specifically your interactions with the former General Pong Krell in the latter half of the Umbara campaign.”

“At 2400 hours, General Skywalker was informed by General Krell that his presence was needed by the Jedi Council back in Coruscant. General Skywalker expressed his concerns about leaving the field, but General Krell informed him that he would be taking command. At that time, on General Krell’s orders, I marched Torrent Company up the main causeway to the Umbaran capital. During the march we received many casualties and–

“Is it true that you ordered a retreat of your men against the standing orders of General Krell?”

“Yes sir, I did. The Umbarans had us vastly outnumbered and outgunned. I pulled my men to safety until we could determine a more efficient course of action.”

“...Continue, Captain.”

General Skywalker had been conspicuously absent since Rex and the 501st had returned to Coruscant, though he had made eye contact with Commander Tano on his way to the inquiry. (She’d looked alternately horrified and furious, but all Rex could see was sprawled orange limbs and blue and white lekku dulled by the dust of a planet trapped in eternal night. Except… it wasn’t lightsaber burns that would have brought her down.) Commander Tano hadn’t been allowed into the Inquiry Room, for which Rex felt vaguely grateful.

He wasn’t sure he wanted her to hear the details.

“After we retreated from the causeway, General Krell ordered the 501st to start advancing on a nearby air base the Umbarans were using to bombard General Kenobi’s forces surrounding the capital. Our route to the air base was through a narrow canyon, and as anticipated, we were met with fierce resistance from the Umbarans. At one point, our position was in danger of being overrun, so I sent Lieutenant Fives and a trooper, Hardcase, on ahead to try and sneak into the Umbaran air base and return with air support.”

“I’m confused, Captain. Are you saying that you sent an ARC Lieutenant and a trooper, both without any piloting experience, to attempt to commandeer and operate two enemy fighters in an attempt to provide air support to troopers facing overwhelming odds in a narrow canyon that prohibited maneuvering? Why didn’t you retreat?”

“I was ordered not to, sir.”

“You didn’t seem to have an issue with this earlier.”

“I was ordered to take the air base, sir. I couldn’t do that by retreating.”

“...Continue.”

Due to the way the light was placed, the raised dais where the Inquiry Committee sat was cloaked in shadow. Even squinting as much as he could without appearing to be trying, Rex couldn’t see anything more than a few shadowy figures staring down at him. 

He wondered if General Skywalker was there.

“Lieutenant Fives and Trooper Hardcase were successful. They retrieved two Umbaran starfighters and after disabling any pursuit the Umbarans could manage, they returned to provide air support for Torrent Company. With their help we were able to take the air base and provide General Kenobi with support on his flank. Once there, however, we received a transmission from General Kenobi stating that his forces had been pushed back by long range missile fire the Umbarans had received from a Droid Supply Ship in orbit. However, the transmission was terminated abruptly by the Umbarans, so General Krell ordered the 501st to prepare for a frontal assault across the delta to bolster General Kenobi’s troops.”

“It’s at this point that Lieutenant ‘Fives’ and troopers ‘Hardcase’ and ‘Jesse’ mutinied and stole three Umbaran starfighters to destroy the Droid Supply Ship?”

“...Yes sir.”

“Did you know they were going to do this?”

“I did, sir.”

“Is there a reason why you didn’t order them to stand down?”

“If the missile barrage didn’t stop, then the 501st would never have made it across the delta. The casualties would have been untenable, sir.”

“As opposed to the casualties in the friendly fire incident you claim was perpetrated by General Krell?”

“General Krell had sabotaged our transmitter, sir. We didn’t know it was our own being sent out.”

”...Given your reaction to General Krell’s previous orders, I find myself surprised you did not try to supercede this one.”

 _It’s a good thing Fives isn’t here,_ Rex thought. _He’d never be able to hold his tongue._

But Rex could, so he waited until the silence stretched around him and settled into the same wary uncertainty he felt when walking through a minefield (or collecting the bodies of dead brothers under blaster-scarred trees). 

Finally, with a few clearing of throats, the committee members spoke again.

“Your report says that you pulled together a number of troopers from both the 501st and the 212th to bring in General Krell. Under whose authority?”

“It is the duty of every soldier of the Republic to remove individuals that threaten the safety and security of said Republic. General Krell confessed to deliberately sabotaging our efforts to fight the Umbarans. So we removed him.”

“We? Are you saying every soldier in your command decided to what, volunteer?”

“Yes.”

The committee waited for more, for some kind of explanation that would allow them to ease their consciences over allowing a General of the GAR to fall so far and so fast. 

Rex gave them nothing. 

“Very well. CT-7567, you are–”

“Captain Rex stays where he is,” said a new voice, and Rex twitched with recognition.

“...General Kenobi, this clone participated in the death of one of your own, you can’t just–”

“It is the will of the Jedi Council that Captain Rex remains where he is, as no one else is better equipped to understand or react to a betrayal of that magnitude.” General Kenobi’s voice shifted, dropping into the whisper-soft, soothing register that made Rex’s fingers twitch for his blasters, left behind at the barracks. “I suggest that if you wanted an army that couldn’t think for itself, Senator Nash, you should have invested in Trade Federation battle droids.” One of the shadows shifted, turning towards Rex. “Thank you Captain, you are dismissed.”

The senator sputtered, rising to a whine like a malfunctioning speeder, but Rex didn’t move.

“Captain?”

“With respect, sir. I was hoping for information on one of my troopers. His name is Dogma?”

The senator’s histrionics were reaching critical levels, if Rex was any judge, but he kept his focus fixed on the shadow he was certain was Obi-wan Kenobi.

“...I will see what I can do, Rex.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Rex left as the Senator started yelling. For a moment, he almost pitied them. If even Separatists couldn’t manage to stand against Obi-wan Kenobi as the Negotiator, then he doubted a mere senator could manage it.

No one stopped him as he walked through the winding corridors of the GAR Headquarters. No one even looked in his direction save for a few curious glances at his uncovered head. Fives was waiting outside the barracks, his dark eyes narrowed at the blaster he held in his hand.

“Did they tell you where he went?” he asked.

Rex shook his head. “No. General Kenobi said he’d look into it.”

Fives’ mouth thinned. “That’ll take too long.

“I know.” Rex grabbed an empty ammo box in his locker, taking care that only Fives could see him pull up the false bottom and reveal a comlink. “I’ve got to make a call.”

With Fives carefully eyeing the empty room, Rex put the earpiece in and waited for the connecting static to clear. “Sergeant Skirata? This is Captain Rex of the 501st.

“I have a brother I need you to find.”

**Author's Note:**

> [My tumblr is here.](http://starbirdrampant.tumblr.com) Come say hello!
> 
> If you would like to send in a prompt of your own, just let me know what it's for so I don't get a random ask out of the blue!


End file.
